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Denmark strips man of citizenship after terrorism conviction

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - A Danish court on Tuesday stripped the citizenship from a Danish-Moroccan bookseller jailed for inciting terrorism, in the first case of its kind in the country. Sam Mansour was found guilty of supporting al Qaeda and Syria's al-Nusra Front in posts on Facebook and for his help in publishing books by Abu Qatada, a Jordanian cleric who was deported from Britain for trial at home. He was sentenced to four years in jail in December, but the prosecution sought to also strip him of his citizenship, possible only because he still has Moroccan citizenship. He now faces possible deportation to Morocco. "These comments (in Facebook posts) go way beyond the borders of freedom of speech, which the court also agreed," public prosecutor Kristian Braad Jensen said outside the court. Mansour told the hearing he would risk torture if he were returned to Morocco, but the court found this to be a matter for asylum authorities, not the justice system according to a court statement. Mansour will need to serve out his sentence in Denmark before he can be deported, although his attorney, Thorkild Hoyer, said international treaties might forbid his departure. Hoyer told reporters he would seek to appeal to the Danish Supreme Court, although an Appeals Permission Board would need to decide that there were grounds for such a case. (Reporting by Alexander Tange; Editing by Alison Williams)